


cuddling fic three: team

by busaikko



Series: three cuddling fics [3]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-31
Updated: 2010-10-31
Packaged: 2017-10-12 23:58:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/130575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/busaikko/pseuds/busaikko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Team cuddling</p>
            </blockquote>





	cuddling fic three: team

Back on Sateda, there was a comet that swept in and around the sun every 208 years. Ronon's older brother had taken him out into the hills to see it when he was finishing first-school. The comet had been brighter than the third moon, and Ronon had felt a kind of wistful lonliness on its behalf, as it streaked past warmth and light and home, exiling itself into the silent nothingness.

John reminds him of that comet. Sometimes he's distant and self-contained and lets concern roll of him like water from oiled leather. Other times his isolation turns into a hunger, and it's hard to catch him then and make him understand that it's all right to _want_.

John's wanting now, as the adrenaline from the last mission burns off. He needs to know he's in a good place, and Ronon sees Teyla take Rodney aside for a word when they're in the infirmary. When they leave, they walk together, Rodney and Teyla on either side of John, and Ronon at his back. John says something stupid when they get to his room, something about being fine and not needing to be babysat.

Rodney cordially tells him to shut the fuck up and open the damn door.

John starts shaking as soon as they're inside and the door is shut. He tries to hide it by shoving his hands in his pockets and offering beer and chips and fruit.

Come here, Ronon says, and grabs John's arm and hugs him. John's stiff, because touching's not natural to him; like the comet, he spends most of his time alone. But Ronon drags him down to the floor anyway, and Teyla's there with the soft puffy thing from the bed and some pillows, and Rodney bitches and moves everyone's bodies around until they're all comfortably snuggled in around John.

Ronon likes the Earth words for touching, hug and snuggle and cuddle, but they have bad PR. They sound childish to people like John, like something to be weaned from. But on a day like this, when they came so very close to losing John, Ronon thinks he needs to know. . . .

That Teyla isn't more valuable because she has Kanaan and Torren, and Rodney and Ronon aren't more valuable because they _might_ have families of their own. That they mourn a little every time John spins away, out on his lonely orbit, but they always, always want him to come back and outshine the moon.

Ronon doesn't know how to say this to John, or at least he doesn't know how to make John hear; but he can put his head on Rodney's shoulder and his arm around Teyla and hold John inside like that, just for a while. Just until John stops shaking, and goes still enough for Ronon to pretend that he understands.


End file.
